Alternative Provision

Technology Triumphs (TT) is an online education provider catering specifically for young people. Flexibility is a key aspect to their approach and their programme design enables learners to progress through the content at their own pace without the added pressure of keeping pace with their peers. Their vocational courses have been designed to be a fully inclusive provision, facilitating learners of all abilities and ages regardless of their school history. The remote nature of the provision ensures that location is also not a prohibiting factor in accessing the courses.

The courses are ideal for young learners with SEND, those with high levels of anxiety which prevent them from accessing schools, home educated students, excluded young people and those who struggle with traditional academic subjects and who wish to pursue a more vocational career.
The courses are delivered via a learning portal where learners have access to their course in the form of engaging and fillable workbooks, with links to pre-filmed tutorials embedded within them. Learners are allocated an assessor who provides written feedback and guidance on the completion of each workbook, as well as access to a qualified teacher via a messaging service for additional support if it is required.

Technology Triumphs (TT) provides Ofqual-approved Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications to learners who struggle to engage with more conventional education channels.  TT offers online courses that have been independently approved under the awarding body NCFE and allows learners to learn at home without feeling pressurised and at their own pace.
The qualifications on offer are focussed on more vocational subjects including Art & Design, Creative Crafts (D&T), Cookery, Cake Decorating, Textiles and Photography. These have been designed to run in a similar format that an Art or Design & Technology GSCE would be in a standard school setting, with the emphasis on building upon basic skills and knowledge, developing a design portfolio through to a final outcome on a sustained project.

An Entry Level Award qualification is also available for learners to whom a Level 1 or 2 qualification might be unobtainable. This qualification has a stronger focus on physical outcomes and is suitable for learners who might not engage with any written work. This course has been designed in line with a school curriculum KS3 DT carousel with the learners working their way through cookery, textiles and mixed media projects.
The courses focus on building skills and enhancing knowledge. They are all portfolio assessed and do not have an end point exam. These specifications work well for learners who are more vocational, might be unable to sit a controlled assessment under exam conditions, are home educated, or have other learning needs.

The course specification places no emphasis on spelling and grammar, meaning that more learners are able to access and succeed in completing their qualification.
Learners with Level 2 Certificates are often accepted onto college courses in lieu of GSCE exam qualifications.

Technology Triumphs was established in 2019 and is the brainchild of Pip Rothwell, a qualified Design and Technology teacher. Pip left teaching, when she became disillusioned by the provisions on offer in the conventional school environment and how it excluded certain students, who did not fit the traditional mould. She feels strongly that young people should be encouraged and nurtured to fulfil their own potential so she decided to create a number of vocational courses to offer those learners who may feel excluded from the education exam-based model on offer. TT offer courses that have been independently approved under the awarding body NCFE to provide remote learning in the more creative and practical subjects such as Cookery and Creative Crafts for example.

Since 2020, nearly 200 certificates for completed qualifications have been issued.
There are currently around 1000 learners studying for their qualifications with around 500 having registered in the last 12 months. The majority of learners who are not currently active on their course have opted to ‘pause’ their participation whilst they focus on other matters such as health issues. This is an aspect of the TT business model that many families have been able to utilise and learners frequently ‘rejoin’ their courses as circumstances allow.
The flexibility of the courses means that there are no end date exams to revise for and the learners are encouraged to work through the courses at their own pace, in an environment comfortable to them, with gentle support from the online mentor. This means that the traditional academic year does not apply to the learners as there are no deadlines as such and so learners receive their qualifications at different points during the academic year.
Typically it takes the average learner just over two years to complete the courses. Some learners choose to take advantage of the flexibility and design of the provision and are able to complete in less than 2 years (some within one year), simply by dedicating more hours per week to their course.
The remote provision of the courses mean that the learners are not restricted by location and there are currently a number of learners accessing course materials from overseas.

Feedback has been received from parents and carers that learners have been able to use their Level 2 Certificates in lieu of a GCSE certificate in order to gain access to Level 3 courses at colleges across the nation (particularly when applying for creative courses). We recently had one learner receive confirmation to a place on a college Level 3 course due to the quality of their provision from our Level 1 qualification. Feedback also highlights that the knowledge and skills they developed whilst progressing through the course has set them above some of their peers when they attend further education provisions.

Within the online learning portal programme, there is a function for the learners and the online tutors to monitor a progress chart which shows the percentage progression through the course at any given time.
Learners have the opportunity to redo modules and fine tune their portfolio to continuously improve and build on their skills and knowledge without the pressure of timed exams and deadlines. They then move onto their next workbook upon successful completion of their previous module.
Once all workbooks are complete, a final moderation exercise will be conducted to ensure that evidence is obtained to show that all assessment objectives have been met. TT will the claim the certificates on behalf of the learner directly from the awarding body NCFE as the company holds approval with them as an independent exam centre. The learner will then have the option of moving onto the next level within the same subject area or onto a different vocational course which complements the learning of the original course.

The courses are focussed on developing learners’ skills and knowledge and do not impose a minimum or maximum age on the learner. Parents are reporting that colleges are accepting the TT Level 2 certificates in lieu of GCSEs when learners are applying for post 16 college placements and learners have fed back that the skills they have developed whilst studying with TT are helping them with their progression at college.
The remote nature of the online provision means that the current learners are not restricted by location.

As a qualified Design and Technology teacher, Pip Rothwell was able to witness first-hand the difficulties facing children and young people who wished to progress in the more creative and vocational subjects within traditional school settings. Lack of national funding for these subjects and opportunities for these students combined with particular groups of learners becoming disengaged or excluded from school entirely, led Pip to leave teaching in order to set up Technology Triumphs. Here she developed and created a number of vocational courses to offer those learners who may feel excluded from the education exam-based model on offer. Initially offering these provisions to EHE children whose parents were able to finance the tuition, the intent was always  to move onto offering this provision out so that she could, as per the company ethos;
“ Make creative qualifications accessible to all”.
TT offer courses that have been independently approved under the awarding body NCFE to provide remote learning in the more creative and practical subjects such as Cookery and Creative Crafts for example. The high standards of provisions and accuracy of assessment have earned the company Direct Claim status within their Cookery, Textiles and Mixed Media courses, meaning that once a learner has completed their course the company are able to claim the certificate regardless of the time of year. This feature is particularly motivational for learners who might be working towards other qualifications within the same year.

Due to the remote provision, the experiences of the learners have been numerous and varied depending on where in the country they live. Learners are reporting that they have been able to gain access to Level 2 and Level 3 courses in college settings with their Level 2 certificate acting in lieu of a GCSE. Parents and carers are feeding back that the knowledge and skills gained during the TT courses have given the learners the confidence and expertise to excel in the interview process of college applications. Once at college, the skills developed have given them the ability to work alongside their peers who may have joined college from a school setting.

There are currently approximately over 1000 registered learners on the learning portal. They are all at different stages of progression throughout their courses due to the flexible approach that is offered. It is noted that not all learners are active at any one time.Generally speaking, 500 learners are active at any time. Experience has shown that many learners often 'pause' their course as other commitments or health issues take priority. Parents regularly feedback that the ability to pause the course without fear of ‘falling behind’, is hugely beneficial and aids with motivation in their learners.
There is no minimum or maximum age for the learners, though typically they range from KS2 to KS4 ages. All provisions allow for part-time attendance only although it is possible to utilise the courses for a full time education.
It is not an obligatory requirement for parents and carers to advise TT of additional needs, though it is an option to do so on the booking system.

From those who have volunteered the information, it can be seen that approximately 30% of TT learners are highlighted as having a SEN. The highlighted SEN varies but amongst them TT currently provides course materials to learners who have ASD, ADHD, dyslexia, Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, mutism, developmental delays, demand avoidance, downs syndrome, moto neurone disease, Tourette’s and severe anxiety.
The courses are ideal for young learners with SEND, those with high levels of anxiety which prevent them from accessing schools, home educated students, excluded young people and those who struggle with traditional academic subjects and who wish to pursue a more vocational career. The absence of deadlines, mean the learner does not feel pressured and can work at their own pace.

The online provision of Ofqual-approved Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications, coupled with online support and tutorial from specialist educators, allows TT to be fully inclusive to all learners regardless of their schooling, location or ability.
Each learner is assigned a qualified assessor, who has been enhanced DBS checked, that provides written feedback and guidance upon the submission of each workbook, allowing the learner to revisit and finetune their work. The current provision allows for a total capacity of 2,000 learners. This can indeed increase by expanding our assessor team.